The population of postal code 101 Reykjavík, which covers downtown and the residential neighborhoods to the east and south of the city center, dropped by 1.89% in 2016. The population of postal code 107, Vesturbærinn, which covers the neighborhoods to the west of downtown dropped by 0.26%.
This population decrease tops that of the Westfjords region, which saw a 0.2% last year.
Read more: Population of Iceland grew by 1.8% in 2016. Icelanders are now 338,349
The population statistics of Statistics Iceland show that postal code 101 saw a population drop of 299 people, while 22 fewer people lived in 107 at the end of 2016 than lived there at the beginning of the year. All other neighborhoods in the metropolitan area saw a population increase in 2016. The largest increase was in Kjalarnes neighborhood, the northernmost suburb of Reykjavík, where the population increased by 9.16%. Kjalarnes is located in the foothills of Esjan mountain, north of Reykjavík proper.
High real estate and expensive rent
The chief reasons for the population drop in downtown Reykjavík are high house prices and rising rental prices on the one hand, and the growing number of airbnb apartments and hotels, which have replaced rental properties.
Read more: Iceland led the global real estate price increases in 2016
The largest population decreases in 2016 was recorded in the Árneshreppur county, the northernmost municipality in the Strandir region on the northern coast of the Westfjords. Árneshreppur includes the villages of Djúpavík, Norðurfjörður, two of the smallest and most isolated villages in Iceland and several remote farms. The population of Árneshreppur shrunk by 16.36% in 2016. At the end of the year 46 people lived in the municipality.
The population of postal code 101 Reykjavík, which covers downtown and the residential neighborhoods to the east and south of the city center, dropped by 1.89% in 2016. The population of postal code 107, Vesturbærinn, which covers the neighborhoods to the west of downtown dropped by 0.26%.
This population decrease tops that of the Westfjords region, which saw a 0.2% last year.
Read more: Population of Iceland grew by 1.8% in 2016. Icelanders are now 338,349
The population statistics of Statistics Iceland show that postal code 101 saw a population drop of 299 people, while 22 fewer people lived in 107 at the end of 2016 than lived there at the beginning of the year. All other neighborhoods in the metropolitan area saw a population increase in 2016. The largest increase was in Kjalarnes neighborhood, the northernmost suburb of Reykjavík, where the population increased by 9.16%. Kjalarnes is located in the foothills of Esjan mountain, north of Reykjavík proper.
High real estate and expensive rent
The chief reasons for the population drop in downtown Reykjavík are high house prices and rising rental prices on the one hand, and the growing number of airbnb apartments and hotels, which have replaced rental properties.
Read more: Iceland led the global real estate price increases in 2016
The largest population decreases in 2016 was recorded in the Árneshreppur county, the northernmost municipality in the Strandir region on the northern coast of the Westfjords. Árneshreppur includes the villages of Djúpavík, Norðurfjörður, two of the smallest and most isolated villages in Iceland and several remote farms. The population of Árneshreppur shrunk by 16.36% in 2016. At the end of the year 46 people lived in the municipality.
